1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a direct view display devices as for example, a liquid crystal display device. More preferably, this invention relates to such displays which incorporate arrays of tapered optical waveguides to achieve relatively high light transmission, high contrast, and large viewing angles.
2. Description of Related Art
Display devices as for example projection display devices, off screen display devices and direct view displays are known. See for example, EPO 0 525 755 A1; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,659,185; 5,132,830; 5,159,478; Japanese Publication Nos. 245106 and 42241. Such displays are used in a wide range of applications which include computer terminals, airplane cockpit displays, automotive instrument panels, televisions and other devices that provide text, graphics or video information. Such displays can replace conventional cathode ray tube displays due to advantages of smaller volume, reduced weight, and lower power consumption.
Conventional direct view displays as for example liquid crystal displays suffer from a number of inherent disadvantages. For example, at high viewing angles (large angles from the direction normal to the surface of the display), such displays suffer from low contrast and changes in visual chromaticity as the viewing angle changes.